By Greg Archer | Contributing Columnist
Ongoing efforts to reimagine Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery in Riverside are being buoyed by modern-day tweaks.
Thanks to the development of apps, QR codes, and events hosted by the cemetery, discovering new facets of the region’s history and some of the vital souls who helped shape it, has become much easier.
The nonprofit has developed an app called EMHC, which is akin to a tour of the cemetery, the oldest in Riverside, and includes history, information, and videos.
“It’s the cemeteries where history and community come together,” said Etienne Caroline, former president of EMHC, who continues have an active role with the organization. “Riverside is Riverside because of the people here and the people that came before us. The cemetery reflects that.”
Resting at the base of Mount Rubidoux, the cemetery was founded in 1872, erected by former Union soldiers. Caroline said there are more than 27,000 beings interred on the site, many of regional and national significance.
Additionally, more than 1,500 individuals occupy the historic portion of the cemetery and include some of Riverside’s most notable founders.
Learning more about Riverside’s founder, John Wesley North — also the president of the 1870 Southern California Colony Association — will be one swipe easier. And here’s to the hard work of Luther and Eliza Tibbets, founders of the citrus industry, who deserve a newfound spotlight.
“We want people to more clearly understand this is where community and history come together,” Caroline said. “And that comes from telling the stories. That comes from sharing that information.”
It’s all part of a creative push to not only share Riverside’s unique history but to engage residents with the area’s past and the evolving nature of cemeteries, in general.
A recent grant from the Fred Stebler and Eva V. Stebler Foundation Designated Fund via Inland Empire Community Foundation will help those efforts. Caroline said the IECF grant allows the nonprofit to fund projects designed to share vital information and establish community building.
He cites an upcoming development that will offer QR codes to allow users to scan from their smart phones, then be referred to information about the cemetery.
“Basically, when you come in, you can use the QR code, then go to places and see the historic things listed there,” Caroline said. “It will be a kind of a catalog or library for short videos about a person, and maybe include a narrative.
“We’re trying to look at things in a forward-thinking way so that people can be more exposed to more aspects of cemetery and history,” Caroline said, pointing out that from the region’s historic orange groves to the Mission Inn, the area is a bona fide utopia of California milestones.
“We’d like people to visit, inquire, and become a part of things here,” he said. “We recently did a pumpkin patch for the little kids, then a cinema night where we screened ‘Beetlejuice.’”
A fitting place for that comedy horror romp, in fact. Caroline said the event drew about 400 people.
Yet another event is slated for Nov. 16, when EMHC will celebrate being placed on a national list of historic places in the United States.
The Evergreen Cemetery”] Association was established as a nonprofit organization in 1872. The spelling of the word cemetery was later changed. Lush and home to many palm trees, the cemetery became an honorable haven for the deceased.
Efforts to restore EHMC began in 2003. The project became a success and assured future funding for the cemetery, paving a viable path for the region’s rich history to live on.
Learn more at evergreen-cemetery.info.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy. Visit iegives.org.
